Setting the Score
by Bonnie-San
Summary: Burke and Murray have been in a lousy mood all day, nothing going their way. What better way to relieve that frustration than to visit the military outcasts and show the two hot shots their low position. Written through Chance and Jake's Point of View.


**Title:** Setting the Score

**Summary:** Finally, the clash had been set. The fight that so begged to be played set its angry claws in the fate of Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong, testing their team work yet again. The question is, who will win?

**A/N:** Hi! Welcome to this fanfiction. This oneshot is dedicated as a birthday present to the ever lovely Sparkleshadowcat! Happy Birthday sweetheart! Don't expect anything spectacular, this is just one short oneshot. But I hope you really like it.

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There was so much noise. Scratch that, the noise was simply too loud. And too repetitive. Like a steel drum beating slowly but harshly inside his head. Jake went out of his bed and walked sluggishly into the work place only to be greeted by the sight of his partner's behind sticking out from under the hood of a shining black vehicle. His paw went to his head and he groaned loudly in protest to the raising volume of the unwelcome disturbance.

"Hey, keep it down will ya. I can hardly get any sleep around here with all your hammering."

The addressed partner skipped at the unexpected voice and accidentally hit his head on the hood on his way up. He cursed loudly at the pain and then turned to the other with a guilty smile. "Aah, my bad Jake." Taking a dirty handkerchief from his pocket he wiped his paws as clean as possible from oil. "Have to tune up the efficiency of the engine for this lovely piece to run smoothly and the electricity to the start key is totally busted."

"Yeah, well do it a bit quieter." In an instant Jakes eyes got stuck on the ride that Chance was working on and he made an impressed whistling sound. "Wow. Is that what I think it is?"

"You bet." A grin grew on Chance's lips and he patted on the car. "A late Pontiac Firebird."

Jake leaned his paws against his knees, studying the beauty a little closer up. "What is it doing here? Shouldn't it be brought to the manufacturer's repair station?"

"It looks tampered with, so my guess is that this car isn't legally put together. Wouldn't want to have the authority chasing them after all the trouble behind it." Chance's grin disappeared and he looked worriedly at the red furred cat. "You seem worse than before. Think that sleep did any good at all?"

"I don't know." Jake answered truthfully and straightened himself placing a paw on his head. "My head is still pounding and my throat hurts like being sandpapered. At least my nose isn't clogged yet." He shifted his paw to feel his own forehead. "Though I think I have a fever."

"I know exactly what will work to defeat that cold. A nice long nice marathon of Scaredy Cat and a big box of popcorn to match it up." Chance hit his friend's back in what was meant to be a supportive action but came out a little too hard. "That just can't go wrong."

Taking a step forward to balance out the force Jake tried to hold back a little cough. It's not like he wasn't used to Chance's rough handling. Instead he waved a paw in front of his nose in a discarding motion. "Think I'll pass. A glass of warm milk and honey wouldn't hurt though."

"Right on it pal." Chance said and eagerly went out into the kitchen. In the meantime Jake began to inspect the black car with the eyes of a kitten around catnip and couldn't help but to let his engineering curiosity get the best of him. He took a monkey wrench from the work table and began testing the quality of the motor. It didn't take long before he began to mixture with the machine and give it some of his own tune ups. After some time a familiar sound of a beeping truck that was put in reverse could be heard somewhere in the distance. He turned his attention away from the peak of his interest and walked out of the garage to inspect the disturbance. Suddenly he felt someone yank him backwards and just as he was about to complain about his partner's behaviour a heap of scrap metal fell to the place he had just been standing.

He blinked a few times before reality kicked in. "Thanks." The red furred cat said and looked at his saviour. What greeted him was an angry face that told him that his partner wasn't in a good mood. And he could also see his partner's jaw and fists clenched tight.

"Don't mention it." The sharp edge could clearly be heard from his voice and Chance didn't even try to hide that. "Burke, Murray, maybe you should have gotten driver lessons for driving that truck. You still don't seem to know where to drop the stuff correctly."

Murray stuck his head out of the window on the big truck. "What's the matter hot shot? Don't you like our new customer service?"

Burke was laughing that throaty ugly laugh of his on the passenger seat. "Yeah, delivering it right to your doorstep."

"Why don't you learn where it really should lie next time? That's real customer service." Chance barked out between clenched teeth. He could hear his partner's growling that backed the opinion up behind his back.

The two thugs turned to each other and an understanding was occurring between them. They both grinned widely. "Nah, we figured that you could use some exercise." Burke said when he had opened the car door and stepped outside.

"So you can much easier can pay back your debt." Murray filled in as he stepped out of the truck as well.

"Aw, aren't we nice today."

Chance's tight jaw didn't give much room for speech but even so, he couldn't let that slide. "So why don't you get out here so you can get to feel the lesson you so beg to learn." He felt a paw gripping hard on his shoulder that acted like a lid over his rising anger.

"Come on Chance, they're not worth the effort." Jake coaxed in a try to smother the fight before it began. A snarl was what the red furred cat got in response and his paw was shrugged of the shoulder.

The pilot spit in their general direction. "You're lucky my partner is so understanding." Both he and Jake began to turn to the big pile of scrap metal.

"Oooh, they're running away." The bigger of the two taunted and Murray followed his coworker's train of thought easily.

"Like small chickens running towards their mommy." Their ugly laughs seemed to echo in the otherwise quiet environment even if there was no possible way it could. The two began flapping their arms suggestively. "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck." And their laugh barked even louder.

_I'm sorry buddy, I really tried._ Chance thought to himself and clenched his fists tightly before he let his temper get the best of him. With a high right hook he turned around in a flash and sent a strike to Burke. But as Burke was anticipating this he was ready to catch the fist in his palm.

"Lookie here Murray, this little military outcast want to prove his worth. Shall we give him what he wants?"

"As always Burke." Murray answered with a hint of a sadistic undertone. He had been eager for this the whole day. Watching as the pilot continued to rain punches to the big junk delivery boy he smirked wickedly. "We did offer them customer service after all." Murray sneaked in behind the beige furred hot shot and assertively reached to take a hold of his collar pulling back and simultaneously timing a kick to his knee pit making Chance trip with widened eyes and fall back to the ground.

Jake hurried over to help his partner up, glaring at the assailants. "You know, two against one is not a fair fight."

As an answer Burke quickly took a hold of Jake and lifted the sure shot up over his head while Murray took the chance to attack Chance. Burke threw Jake over the heads of Chance and Murray making him land on the pile of scrap metals, falling down on the other side, and the two fighting managed to spin around so that the pilot got in between the delivery boys. The bigger cat saw the opportunity and managed to get Chance in an arm hold and too late the beige furred cat realized the situation he was caught in. The smallest cat pressed his knuckles in front of him, laughing at their expense. "The two hot shots don't look so hot right now." Murray gave Chance a hard punch in the stomach. He was about hit one more time when Jake hit a right swing to Murray's chest sending him down. Before anyone could gather their wits the red furred cat then jumped high up in the air and swung a round-kick over his partner and hitting Burke in the side of the head. As he landed in a low stance Chance freed his arms and helped his pal up.

Jake stood tall and challenged Murray with his eyes. "Don't count me out yet."

Chance massaged his stomach. "What took ya so long?" Being sure not to forget the fight around them they both skipped around so they were standing back to back and raised their paws as guard.

Also standing up Murray whined out loud. "Don't butt in like that."

"Yeah, we were having such a good time there." Burke continued mockingly and met up with his friend's whining.

"Sorry but I don't take lightly on someone pouncing on my partner." Jake threatened with glaring teeth, having Chance thanking him under his breath. Around them their opponents grew steadily closer, trapping them more and more with each second passed. The scrap junk delivery boys giggled wickedly and highly enjoyed the challenge ahead.

"Chance." Jake said expectantly to his partner.

"Jake." Chance answered in turn and with a shared moment they both charged an attack simultaneously. The beige furred cat hit Burke straight on, stunning Burke temporarily in place, and the sure shot jumped up to place a high round kick the Murray's chest. But to his disarray Murray blocked his kick. So instead Jake used that leverage to kick off from Murray and send himself back flipping over Chance, placing his paws on Chance's shoulders for support, and using the force of gravity and momentum to flip around and send that hard kick at the backside of Burke's head instead. When Chance felt his partner's weight lift he swung around to greet the shortest one. To his surprise Murray was about to give him a right straight and Chance barely managed to put up his guard on time and block the punch. Not being one to wait Chance quickly advanced his own attack at Murray, who was as ready as can be and easily jumped out of the way.

As for the other part of the street fight Burke began to come back from his temporary time out and saw Jake standing over him, waiting for him to come to. Grinning at the naivety Burke met that patience by delivering a punch to Jake on his way to stand up. The strike sent the red furred cat up a bit in the air and when he landed he stumbled on his feet. As he shook his head he felt another strike to his torso. Before he really got what he had done Jake had stooped down and tripped Burke over. When he stood up again Chance took his arm and swung him around so that he could kick Murray to the side and send him straight into the truck and down to the ground.

Again they were where they started. The two mechanics back to back while being surrounded by their assailants. But this time their assailants were both down on the ground. Chance heard his partner's ragged breath as he wheezed a little. With concern he patted his partner's shoulder over his own. "A little too early to get tired Jake."

The addressed one wiped his eyebrows with the backside of his paw. "Don't you worry buddy, I still have some juice in me."

Before Chance could have answered to that he had to block a strike from Burke that had risen while they had been talking. Murray was also up and running by now and punched at Jake with strong fists. The two hot shots blocked and ducked to the best of their abilities, both giving and receiving punches at right moments. Slowly Burke and Murray succeeded to separate the two so they had to fend for their own selves. As Chance noticed this he growled at the situation, more than glad to have even more to fuel his frustration and anger towards Burke. And he let that anger strengthen his resolve to win this fight.

Jake ducked another strike from Murray and he felt himself grow lightheaded, making him lose his concentration to the struggle. He shook his head to become more aware and barely managed to block yet another punch. Then he realized that this couldn't go on, he had to turn this around somehow. He couldn't afford to let this continue. It was enough that he had let the big oaf land a hit on him before.

"Hey, sure shot! Stand still so that I can punch your face pretty."

The blustery voice shot Jake right back to the presence and to his opponent. He really couldn't afford to let his attention stray like that. "Not while I'm still breathing. I like my face the way it is." Ducking bellow a fist Jake took a step back to gain some space and to get further away from the punches. He felt his heel hitting something hard and pointy that he hadn't noticed was lying there and stumbled backwards. A glimpse sparkled in Murray's eyes and he took the chance when Jake was busy with staying standing to load a hard fist and strongly struck Jake right to the side of his face. Jake harshly hit the ground and the kick Murray then send to his side kicked the air out of him.

Chance heard the air escape the sure shot and regardless of his situation turned anxiously around to assess the situation. When he saw Jake lying unmoving on the ground he sprinted to get to his side. "Jake!" He screamed out but got stopped in his run as Burke had followed him and somehow managed to get the pilot stuck in that damn arm lock again. Chance's eyes widened and he struggled to come loose. "Jake? Answer me buddy!" Murray stepped in front of him, shielding his view of his partner, and Chance didn't like the smirk that was plastered on the delivery boy's face. Oh no, he didn't like that at all. What he wouldn't give to be able to wipe that self gloating smirk right off his face. As if reading his mind Murray punched him hard in the face and then once again and just as hard in the stomach.

"Don't be thinking anything bright now outcast." The voice came from behind him when Chance came to it and started to struggle again.

"Yeah, don't be thinking anything bright." Murray repeated in front of him. "Then I will take care of you the same way I took care of your friend there."

As if on cue Chance heard Jake gulp loudly behind Murray, take in a huge breath and the start to cough violently. The nature of the cough changed and Chance grew more worried than before. "Jake? Are you alright, pal? Answer me." Murray stepped out of the way to give the pilot back his view of his friend and Chance growled angrily at him when he got to see the result; Jake standing on all four holding his throat and coughed like there was no tomorrow, like he couldn't get any air into his needy lungs. Feeling the ebb of panic strike him hard Chance added that to his already pent up frustration and swung his head as hard as he could backwards. He heard Burke roar with pain but he didn't really register it. What he did register was that his action seemed to have loosened Burke's grip on him and quickly he pulled his arms away and hurried over to his partner. Chance put a paw on his back and patted it soothingly in a try to ease the nasty cough.

Letting out one mean cough a big furball flew out of Jake's mouth and he massaged his throat with a tending care. "Finally! That one's- been itching- for a week." Jake said between heavy pants. The voice was a bit raspy of the harsh treatment.

Chance felt relief shower him at the signs that Jake was okay. Then suddenly he felt pissed off, tricked even. "Don't you scare me like that again." He said with a scolding tone and helped his friend up. "Those furballs of yours have a lousy timing pal."

"Sorry- Chance. I'll try not- to do it- again." He answered apologetically and they both directed their gazes to the noises they heard from the delivery boys.

Burke held his nose tight. It was bleeding kind of heavily and it was so numb that he couldn't even feel it at all. Murray patted his friend's shoulder. "We'll patch you up at home. That need to get clean as soon as possible. Let's finish this for today." The small thug then turned to the two hot shots that just stood up from the ground.

As Jake saw the condition of Burke's nose he grew worried and put a paw to Chance's chest to stop him from going further. "The nose looks broken. What do you say we about us continuing this fight some other time?"

Chance looked unbelievably at his partner. He couldn't be serious…

"My thoughts exactly." Murray answered to their surprise and Jake waved them to follow.

"Come on in, we have an emergency kit that we could use temporarily. He needs to see a doctor."

Chance stopped him from taking another step and had an inappreciative glare that met his partner's defiant one. "Not a chance that I will let them in partner." Chance growled. Jake could see how furious he really was over the idea of inviting them in and he sighed. As the sure shot was about to come with a deep comeback they suddenly heard the fire alarm echoing through the scrap yard and the hot shots looked at each other in shock.

"The fire alarm?" Jake asked unbelievingly, paralyzed to the spot by the sudden and unexpected noise.

Chance smacked his face with his palm. What the hell… how could he have forgotten that. "The milk…" It was the only thing the pilot said before he sprinted inside to take care of the problem. Jake shook his head the his partner and signed the other two that also had grown stiff by the sound to follow. The sure shot would take the chance when Chance wasn't around to invite them in.

He led them to the living area and motioned them to sit in the sofa they had before he himself went to the bathroom to fumble around for the first aid kit. In the living area Burke and Murray sat in silence as they didn't really know what to make of this. They had been in here before, but it had really changed since last time when they lived here. Even the smell was different. When Jake came back out with the first aid kit he found to begin patching up Burke Murray ripped it out of his hands and took the roll of taking care of Burke himself. Jake crossed his arms over his chest and stomped his foot in dislike to the treatment but stopped as he figured that they were protective of their own. His arms were still crossed though.

Out in the kitchen Chance had shut of the fire alarm and was cleaning the stove from burnt milk that had somehow spilt everywhere. The pot was nowhere near usable again. Scrubbing the black soot away from the stove plate he started to calm down enough to rethink his action from before. He didn't regret any of it but now he was more keen to have Burke and Murray over than before. It was just for them to patch themselves up and then they would leave. He thought he could handle that, just as long as they left when they were done. Taking about 30-40 minutes to clean everything up the pilot then wiped his hands on a clean towel that hung in the kitchen and stepped out of the room. There in the door opening he met both Burke and Murray that were on their way out. Chance grinned at how beat they looked even if the only injury they had gotten was Burke's broken nose and a bruised pride over the fact that they had been taken care of by 'these hot shots' of all people. "Leaving so soon?" the pilot raised an eyebrow.

Murray glared daggers at him for sounding so casual yet having so much mockery in his voice. "Don't think this changes anything."

"This fight isn't over." Burke continued and they waltzed out of the building quickly never turning to look back.

"Don't we even get a thank you?" Chance muttered silently to himself, baffled but not shocked over their impoliteness. He soon heard the truck starting outside and accelerating to speed away as quickly as possible. It wouldn't surprise Chance if they broke the speed limit, not that he was anyone to preach about speed limits. The pilot smiled widely. For some reason he felt victorious and he gloated in that feel. He would live of it for weeks. Shining with unexpected pride he walked over to the living area and stepped inside with determined steps. "Sorry buddy, I ruined you warm milk." But he stopped himself from saying anything more as he noticed Jake sprawled on the sofa fast asleep. Now he finally got why Jake had been so eager to finish that fight where he had. The pilot shook his head affectionately and smiled at the lightly snoring cat. He lifted the sure shot's up and carried him to the bedroom instead, carefully putting him down in the bed and spread the cover over his partner. Chance took a moment to watch the sleeping person before he made to move out of the room. In the door opening he spoke over his shoulder.

"Sleep tight Buddy."

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**The End**


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